Friday, May 31, 2013

We wanted to remind you that the Summer Devotions Pursuit 2013 starts TOMORROW, June 1st!!! We are SO EXCITED for all that the Lord has in store as we seek Him this summer!!! You and your friends can still join and take part!!! It is going to be an amazing summer seeking Jesus!

Here are the basic details:Who: You and JesusWhere: Wherever you areWhen: June 1st - August 31st, 2013What is involved: 15 min. of devotions a day, memorizing 1 verse a week, choosing and contacting an accountability partner once every 2 weeks... and an amazing summer with Jesus!When you complete the Summer Pursuit: You send in your chart by September 7th and you receive a reward in the mail - in addition to the best reward of knowing Jesus!Reward: In addition to the best reward of knowing JESUS, this year's reward will be a special surprise package!

This is going to be an amazing summer of pursuing and meeting with Jesus! Pursue Jesus with all that you are this summer, friends. He will meet with you - and you will never be the same!"He satisfies the longing soul…” Psalm 107:9

P.S. You can stay posted here on the blog for encouragement throughout the summer! For special help in having powerful devotions, you can watch the LTL videocast "Having Devotions that Change Your Life." (http://vimeo.com/23062783)

Thursday, May 23, 2013

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity…”
(Psalm 32:1-2)

There are some days when I feel so discouraged by the
presence of sin in my life. How could I struggle with so many temptations, and
fail so often in obedience to Christ, if I really belong to Him? Satan takes
advantage of my weakness to whisper in my ear: “You aren’t really part of God’s
family…if you belonged to Him, you wouldn’t act this way.”

Did you know that voice, the voice of condemnation, is never
from God? He tells us in His word, “There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Certainly, Jesus convicts
us of sin in our hearts. He calls us to confess our sins, and to draw near in
our relationship where we have allowed sin to take root and come between Him
and us. But He never condemns us. No matter what sin we may be struggling with,
if we have been born again, we belong to Him at all times. We are clothed in
Jesus’ righteousness, and God accepts us as completely right before Him forever.

Even as Christians, we still live in a fallen world and—even
though God is doing a sanctifying work in our hearts—we have an ongoing war to
fight with our old sinful nature. John reminds us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us.” (1 John 1:8) As long as we live on this earth, we will experience a
very real war between the spirit and the flesh. As Paul described his own
experience, “I delight in the law of God,
in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the
law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my
members. Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:23-24) Do you constantly feel
that intense war between flesh and spirit, and find that the flesh sometimes
triumphs? You’re a normal Christian, then, just like Paul.

When I hear the voice of condemnation in my head, telling me
I’m not good enough to be God’s child, I need to remind myself that this war
against sin is normal Christianity! Then, I turn my thoughts to the many
promises of God’s word that remind me I am His—and that because of Jesus, He
sees me as completely righteous in spite of my sins.

Here are a few realities from God’s word that He uses to
restore joyful assurance to my heart when I face doubts about how He sees me:

1. I am a
child of God, and it was God Himself who chose me to belong to Him.

What does it mean that I am adopted into
God’s family? “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him But to all
who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor
of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) If I have received
Jesus and believed in Him, I have God’s promise that I am His child. And,
incredibly, it was God Himself who desired to bring me into that intimate
relationship to Him: I could never have accepted His grace, nor trusted in Him,
if He had not first drawn me to Himself. (See John 6:44, 65) It was God—not me—who
took the initiative to restore my relationship with Him to one of perfect
unity. It was God who made the sacrifice to pay for my sins, and who drew me to
Himself while I was still in my sins. I can rest assured that the God who loves
me enough to do that for me will never let me go!

2. Jesus’
sacrifice of Himself on the cross was enough to cover all my sins and make me
perfect in God’s sight.

When I am
especially feeling my sinfulness, I need to remember this beautiful truth:
Jesus’ offering has paid for all my sins, once and for all! He gave me all His
righteousness in exchange for all my sins: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew
no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2
Corinthians 5:21) Through His death on the cross, Jesus took the wrath of God
that I deserve and completely paid the penalty for my sin. In God’s eyes, then,
I am viewed as perfect…even though I am still in the process of Him conforming
me to His image a little more each day. “For by a single offering he has perfected
for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)

3. God loves
me with an everlasting love, and will never let me go.

The Bible lays
out an incredible story of God’s love for His chosen people—a love that has no
beginning and no ending; a love that is not based on our goodness, but is based
on Him and carried on by His faithfulness. Through Jeremiah we hear God
assuring His people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” (Jeremiah 31:3) The
greatest way in which God has shown us His love is through giving His Son to
die for us while we were still sinners. He reconciled us to Himself in love,
and promises never to let us go. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never
perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given
them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s
hand.” (John 10:27-29)

When the enemy brings doubts to your mind, tempting you to
doubt your standing in God’s eyes because of the sinfulness you see in your
heart and life, find assurance by going back to these Scriptural truths. First,
the war against sin is normal, in the midst of the lifelong process of
sanctification! Second, God loves you eternally, and in this love has given
Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for all of your sins: He has given you His
perfection in exchange for your sin. Finally, if you have trusted in Christ,
you have been born spiritually into God’s family and are perfect in God’s
sight: now you belong to God, and He will continue faithfully working in your
heart (through His Word and His Spirit) until you see Him face to face!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

I believe it was around six years ago that I knew in my heart I was not satisfied in Jesus, but I really wanted to be. Through a book I was reading about who I was in Jesus there was a list of scripture verses paraphrased that spoke of my identity in the Lord as His child. After reading the book I still did not feel satisfied in Jesus but I remember thinking to myself that the Bible is truth and that what it is communicating to me about my identity is true even though I did not feel it. I knew I needed God to do a work in my heart.

I decided to use my exercising time on the treadmill to declare these truths from scripture of who I was in Jesus. Most often I would start my time with a simple prayer “Lord, would You place these truths in my heart.” As I spoke these paraphrased verses I would begin by saying “Thank you Lord and then continue on with the verse, “Since I am in Christ, by the grace of God… I have been justified completely forgiven and made righteous” (Rom 6:1-6)

Thank you Lord that I am free forever from condemnation (Rom.8:1)
Thank you that I have been given the mind of Christ (I Cor. 2:16)
Thank you Lord that I have been bought with a price: I am not my own; I belong to God (I Cor. 6:19, 20)
Thank you that I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life (Gal. 2:20)
Thank you that I have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven (Eph.2:6)
Thank that I can come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in time of need (Heb.4:16)
Thank you that I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace (I John 1:9)
Thank you Lord that I have been made complete in Christ (Col. 2:10)

As I continued to speak God’s truth into my heart, He began to do a work in me. As God’s truth went deep within my soul I began to know my identity as a child of Jesus and was satisfied in Him. So many things that I had been struggling with before were diminishing in my life as the Lord was setting me free with His truth. One of the victories in my life as a result of God’s work was no longer caring what people thought of me. There was now a new freedom in living for Jesus alone. John 8:31-32 says, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’”
Since that time I have had seasons where I have struggled to live in these truths, but God has kept helping me come back to what is true. Today in my heart by God placing His truth in me, I have a settledness in my heart that I am His, I belong, and I am His child.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Yesterday
was a sweet time with Grandma of expressing love (and seeing her face
shape into a smile, though she couldn't respond with words), sharing the
Gospel once more (and having her make a noise response in the midst),
and saying goodbye. The tears flowed... she was such a source of love.

I am so grateful to be able to trust her into the Lord's hands.

So grateful that our Jesus is ever with us and we can walk through these times with Him! He is so, so faithful!

Thank you for all of your care, prayers, and notes of encouragement! The Lord has used you in this time as a sweet source of blessing!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Several
years ago, when I first heard about Loving the Lord's “Summer
Pursuit,” I was so excited, since I love studying God's Word—and
knew that doing the pursuit with other young ladies would make it all
the more exciting!

As my sister and I anticipated the pursuit, we
invited our friends to join us; then, realizing that the goal of
seeking the Lord is needful for anyone (not just young ladies!), we
invited our brothers to join us in the pursuit as well! They each
chose godly accountability partners who encouraged them throughout
the summer, as they talked to them on the phone every two weeks and
recited their Scripture memory passages to one another. Having a
mutual goal of seeking the Lord and memorizing His Word was unifying
for my siblings and I. The Lord used this special time to deepen our
love and faith.

God's Word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11), and we
have seen the rich fruits that having a daily devotion time yields in
our lives. My sister and I seek to continually challenge and
encourage our brothers as they seek the Lord and His Word all year
around, and always eagerly look forward to the special summer
months—when we can do the “Summer Pursuit” together.

Innumerable
worldly distractions threaten to completely engulf us, if we are not
purposeful to guard against these diversions and make a commitment to
spend time daily in God's Word. As we prepare ourselves to be the new
generation of godly women and mothers, it is vital that we immerse
ourselves in Scripture. I would challenge you to daily spend time
with the Lord, seeking His Word, and memorizing Scripture—beginning
this summer with Loving the Lord Ministries' “Summer Pursuit.”
This habit will benefit you throughout the rest of your life, and is
the only way to truly become a life that is beautiful to our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ!

“The law of thy mouth is better unto me
than thousands of gold and silver” (Psalm 119:72).

Monday, May 13, 2013

Thank you so much for your prayers,
care, and thoughtfulness for my Grandma!

By the Lord's grace, I was able to visit my Grandma last Wednesday, spend some
quality time, and share the Gospel with her again. She listened, responded to
questions, and she verbally acknowledged that she does trust Jesus to save her,
but Jesus alone knows what has taken place in her heart.Only the Lord can open her eyes, bring the truths from her head to her heart, draw her to
Himself, and know her standing with Him. I long for her to know Jesus and put
her trust in Him alone.I treasure your
prayers for this to be a true reality in her life!

We visited her again yesterday and received a call from hospice today – and she
is rapidly declining.It looks like her
time on earth is short.My heart’s
longing is that even in these last few days that the Lord could open her heart
to receive Him.He holds our lives in
His hands.What a thing it is to trust
our lives and eternal destinies- and
those of those we love – to the One Who gave His life for us!

Thank you for your beautiful part in longing that others would know our amazing
Savior!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

"Who are you? If someone asked you that question, how would you answer? Even more importantly, what would be the answer if you asked yourself, “Where do I find my sense of worth, security, and value?”

This is an issue of identity. Identity essentially means: “who someone is” - where we find our value, or our sense of worth. Where we find our identity is so important because we behave in line with what we believe about who we are...If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you have an identity and worth in Christ that will transform you the more you understand and live in its reality!

...2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Your worth no longer lies in what you do, how you look, or what other people say you are. Your worth lies in Jesus Christ, what He has done, and who you are in HIM!

There are 5 ways to enter:1. Memorize our memory verse for the month and quote it to someone.(May's is ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17)2. Watch the video and comment on our blog (www.lovingthelord.org) beneath the video post, sharing one thing the Lord is teaching you about your identity in Christ.3.Spend 15 minutes of personal devotions with the Lord in Bible reading, prayer, etc.4. Make a list of at least 8 truths of who you are in Christ and put it up in your room.5. Share the Session 4 video on Facebook, your blog, or by email, encouraging your friends to join us.You can do all of the above!Email events@lovingthelordministries.organd tell us your number of entries by May 23rd to be entered for the giveaway drawing. (You can enter a total of 5 times each month with the above opportunities)! We will announce the winner on the blog on May 25th!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Each of us is always pursuing something. What are you pursuing? We pursue what we think will make us truly happy. We were created for a close relationship with the Lord and there alone will we find true satisfaction and joy. It cannot be found anywhere else.

Our life should be about pursuing Jesus - and since this is the case - so should our summer! Summer can be a special, but irregular time of year. In the midst of the varied schedules, activities, etc. it can be easy to let our time with the Lord become shortened. As a result, our soul and most important relationship with Jesus, suffer. The Summer Pursuit is designed to help us draw and keep our hearts close to Jesus this summer and walk in the joy that results! For many this has been the start to that amazing journey of truly knowing the Lord and to a life-long pattern of meeting with the One we were created to know - Jesus! He is so amazing!

Here are the basic details:Who: You and JesusWhere: Wherever you areWhen: June 1st - August 31st, 2013What is involved: 15 min. of devotions a day, memorizing 1 verse a week, choosing and contacting an accountability partner once every 2 weeks... and an amazing summer with Jesus!When you complete the Summer Pursuit: You send in your chart by September 7th and you receive a reward in the mail - in addition to the best reward of knowing Jesus!Reward: In addition to the best reward of knowing JESUS, this year's reward will be a special surprise package!

This is going to be an amazing summer of pursuing and meeting with Jesus! Pursue Jesus with all that you are this summer, friends. He will meet with you - and you will never be the same!"He satisfies the longing soul…” Psalm 107:9

Looking forward to pursuing Jesus with you this summer,

Amy Vest
Loving the Lord Ministries, Inc.

P.S. You can stay posted here on the blog for encouragement throughout the summer! For special help in having powerful devotions, you can watch the LTL videocast "Having Devotions that Change Your Life." (http://vimeo.com/23062783)

Thank you all so much for your prayers, care, and encouragement in regards to my Grandma! We could feel the prayers. Your care meant so much. The Lord poured out His grace on us so clearly! He is so, so faithful.

Grandma's surgery went well, she did make it through the surgery, and is now in recovery. Before her surgery, the Lord gave opportunities to talk with her about her relationship with Him and to share the Gospel. Only the Lord knows Grandma's heart and where she stands with Him. I am grateful we have the privilege of sharing Him for as long as there is breath - in us and in those with whom we are sharing Him! After this, it is a gift to pray and trust them into His hands, for He alone can soften a heart to receive Him! I continue to desire this so much for Grandma! Thank you so much to all of you who are praying for her!

I hope this helps update all of you who have so lovingly prayed, cared, and inquired! I am so grateful for the Body of Christ with whom to share this amazing journey with Him!

May He bless and encourage you as you live this short life seeking with all of your heart to know Him and make Him known!

"...The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16

Thursday, May 2, 2013

If someone asked you that question, how would you answer?Even more importantly, what would be the
answer if you asked yourself, “Where do I find my sense of worth, security, and
value?”

This is an issue of identity.Identity essentially
means: “who someone is” - where we
find our value, or our sense of worth.Where
we find our identity is so important because we behave in line with what we
believe about who we are.

We live in a culture that tells us that our worth is found in how we look, what
we do, how much we have, how popular we are.This only leads into insecurity, fear, unfulfillment, and never
measuring up.

If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you have an identity and
worth in Christ that will transform you the more you understand and live in its
reality!When you have come to Jesus Christ for salvation – He saves you and you become
a new creation in Christ, and a child of God.Salvation takes place when you: ~ Come to God realizing that you are a sinner, that your sin separates you from
God, and that you deserve to spend eternity in hell apart from God.
~ See that Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, came to earth, lived a perfect
life, died on the Cross to pay the penalty for your sins, rose from the dead
and stands ready to save you if you will confess your sins to God.
~ Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and cleanse you from your sins, and put
your total trust in His work for you on the Cross.Then when God looks at you,He sees
Jesus, His redeeming work in your life, and His righteousness.

So, when you become a Christian – you are a new creation and you have a new
identity.2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a newcreation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Your worth no longer lies in what you do, how you look, or what other people
say you are.Your worth lies in Jesus Christ, what He has done, and who you are in HIM!

Galatians 2:20 tells us, “I have been
crucified with Christ. It is no
longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I nowlive in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Your identity is no longer YOU, but HIM!A you-centered (or people, possession, position) identity will lead you
to an identity crisis – those things will fail, disappoint you, and never fully
fulfill!A Christ-centered identity will
bring you all of the security, meaning, and purpose you long for – Jesus never
fails you and can totally fulfill you.

Don’t turn to someone or something else to define you or tell you who you
are!JESUS has already told you who you
are – you just need to listen to Him (and not to yourself or voices of others).Understand that whoever you allow to define
you and tell you who you are and clamor for their approval, you make your god.The only one who has the right to define you
is the One who created you!Listen to
JESUS - not the world, the devil, or yourself.Ask, “Jesus, who do You say that I am?What do you say about me?”He has
told you amazing, life-changing things about who you are in Him!It is so important that you know and
understand your true identity of who you are in Him – and then live in the
reality of it!

Let’s look in His Word ~ Scripture ~ and see who He says you are in Him:

~ Redeemed - “He has delivered us from the
power of darkness and conveyed us
into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”Colossians 1:13-14~ Accepted - “…to the
praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Ephesians 1:6 ~ Beloved – “…you,
brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for
salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”2 Thessalonians 2:13~ Child of God – “But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe
in His name.” John 1:12~ Complete in Christ – “For
in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of
all principality and power.”Colossians 2:9-10~ Nothing can separate you from His love – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor
angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans
8:37-39~ Chosen/“Royal Priesthood” – “But you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the
praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1
Peter 2:9 ~ God’s Workmanship – “For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”Ephesians 2:10~ and so many more!I encourage you to
look into the Bible more and see what the Lord says about who you are in Jesus!

Isn’t this breathtaking?This is who you
are in Jesus!

As you see this, allow the Lord’s grace to bring these amazing truths from your
head to your heart in a way that transforms the way you live your life!Because, if you really believe and walk in
the reality of who you are in Christ, it will change your life!

If you believe you are:
~ Accepted – you will not look to others for affirmation and acceptance (which
can lead to so much trouble).
~ Beloved – you will not desperately look for love in other places.
~ Redeemed – you will not try to gain God’s approval through works.
~ Royal Priesthood and a Daughter of the King of Kings – you will want to be set
apart and live for HIS kingdom vs. this world.
…. and so much more!

See how it changes you?
It is a life-long journey of growing in walking more fully in our identity in
Christ.It is becoming in practice like
we are already in position.It is
knowing we are unchangeably accepted, and receiving God’s grace in growing to
live like it.
We need to keep these truths of our identity in front of our eyes.I encourage you to write some of these verses
and realities of who you are in Christ on cards and put them up on your mirror,
above your bed, and other places where you will see them!

As you grow in living in your true identity in Christ you will find you are
able to increasingly:
~ Live confidently in who you are in Him.
~ Not be emotionally up and down based on what people think of you – but able
to rest in what HE has said about who you are.
~ Be able to focus on HIM alone and what He thinks of you – vs. always worrying
what others think of you.These things will lead you into a deeper relationship with Him and will allow
Him to more freely work through you!

I have found the power of this in my own life – as you receive the Lord’s grace
to walk in the reality of who you are in Jesus, you are increasingly able to live
day-to-day and walk into any setting and rest in who you are in Jesus.Whether people love you or hate you, or think
you are wonderful or weird, you can be at peace knowing your position in Christ
and what He thinks of you. You can walk
into church, a social gathering, etc. and do not need to look around at
everyone and hope they accept you – you can be confident of, and secure in, who
you are in Christ and be able to shine His love!

Every day of my life, I need to walk in the reality of who I am in Jesus!Understanding who I am because of Jesus and
what He has done continues to grow my gratitude for Jesus and be life-altering
for me.When I am not living in the
reality of my identity in Jesus, I find I become insecure, etc. and then the
Lord faithfully directs my eyes back to my position and value because of Him
and the security returns!I want to live
more fully in my identity in Christ with each breath I take.

These beautiful truths are yours when you are in Christ:~ You are not defined by your worst day, what you have done, or what you do –
but, by what Jesus has done for you.
~ You are not defined by how you look, but by what God sees when He looks at
you – JESUS!
~ You are not defined by what you have accomplished, but by what Jesus has
accomplished for you on the Cross!
~ You are not defined by what you know, or even the fact that you know God, but
the fact that God knows you because of Jesus!
~ You are not defined by what people say about you, but by what God says about
you!
~ You are not defined by who you are, but by Who He is in you!

Understanding and living in your identity in Jesus is life transforming.Jesus meant for you to know, believe, and
live in this reality!

Keep looking to Jesus and His Word for a definition of your true identity,
daily remind yourself of and live in the reality of these truths, and watch Him
transform your life!
Go and live in your true identity in Christ!